Infiniti JX: Practical interior in a stylish wrapper

The 2013 Infiniti JX has a starting price of $40,650 for the 2WD model, and $42,050 for the AWD model. (Infiniti)

During this era in which manufacturers are plugging crossover and sport-utility vehicles into every possible niche, finding one with a stand-out character is difficult.

Infiniti has a fresh entry into the competitive luxury CUV segment — the 2013 JX35 — which is a three-row, seven-passenger vehicle with something extra in terms of design and passenger-toting utility.

The JX has a starting price of $40,650 for the 2WD model, and AWD bumps the price to $42,050. Spanning the tape at 196.4 inches long, it’s about 5 inches longer than an Acura MDX and about 11 inches shorter than a Lincoln MKT.

Carving out practical space for passengers is Infiniti’s brag, and key to space utilization is a flat floor and a 60/40-split folding-and-reclining, three-passenger middle seat with 5.5 inches fore-and-aft travel. There’s excellent adjustability, so middle-seat passengers have the power to leave adequate legroom for those in the third row or make conditions tight.

(Infiniti)

With a pull of a latch mounted on the seatback side, the cushion folds to meet the seatback and the seat can easily be slid forward to provide a generous path for access to the 50/50-split folding-and-reclining, two-place third-row seat. The third-row seat can accommodate a couple of adults, but headroom can be lacking for taller passengers.

I don’t use the third-row seat for passengers, but fold flat them to extend the load floor. Behind the third row is a useful cargo area with about a 19-inch-long floor. Dropping the second-row seatbacks extends the floor to about 3 feet and folding seats in row No. 2 ups floor length to roughly 5 feet.

Leather seats are standard, and front buckets are heated, and provide eight-way power adjustability for the driver and six-way power adjustability for the passenger.

The dashboard is elegantly sculpted and instrumentation consists of easy-to-see Fine Vision electroluminescent gauges and a high-resolution Intelligent-View Display that provides the driver with vehicle data and alerts.

The steering wheel is leather wrapped, and power telescoping and tilting.

A $4,950 Premium Packages adds a long list of convenience features, highlighted by an Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation System with an 8-inch color touch-screen display. The package also features Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection — one of the coolest technologies on the market. Four cameras provide a virtual 360-degree bird’s-eye view of the vehicle and surroundings on the in-dash monitor. It’s great for my driveway, which has tricky drop-offs at the sides. Moving Object Detection alerts you to obstacles in motion.

The test vehicle features rear-seat entertainment with a $1,700 Theater Package, which provides multimedia video playback via dual 7-inch monitors mounted on the backs of the front headrests.

Passengers aboard the JX benefit from excellent ride quality, and a well-insulated, quiet interior. Equipped with vehicle-speed-sensitive power steering, the JX has excellent steering input in low-speed parking maneuvers and on the highway.

(Infiniti)

Powering the JX is a 3.5-liter V-6 that generates 265 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 248 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,400 rpm. The transmission mate is a stepless continuously variable transmission that simulates conventional shift points when Sport mode is selected.

Fueled with premium gasoline, the JX FWD’s estimated fuel economy is 18 miles per gallon city and 24 mpg highway.

Contributing to its fuel efficiency and interior quietness is a slick body with an excellent 0.34 coefficient of drag and an Infiniti-reported zero lift at the front and rear. Along with its wind-cheating form, the JX’s aerodynamics is boosted with a front underbody spoiler, integrated tunnel rear spoiler and rear tire deflectors.

Designers sculpted elegance and distinctiveness into the JX’s exterior. The grille is a handsome chrome “double-arch” louvered design and the hood styling is “double wave” with ridges at the sides.

Particularly eye-grabbing are the crescent-cut D-pillars, complemented by a long roofline that tapers to a body-colored rear-roof spoiler.